Press Release: Scott Luth has been named Senior Vice President for Economic Development for the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, Jim Hizer, chamber president/CEO, announced today.
“Scott and I worked together in Kentucky and I am thrilled he will be leading the chamber’s economic development efforts,†Hizer said. “Considering the challenges we face and the opportunities at hand, Scott is the perfect fit.â€
Since 2007 Luth worked as business development manager for Entergy Mississippi Inc. in Jackson, Miss., an energy company providing power to some 437,000 people in 45 of Mississippi’s 82 counties. While with Entergy, Luth’s responsibilities included identifying business opportunities, developing target industry strategies and tracking industrial leads.
Hizer said a vision he and Luth share, that the chamber’s economic development department function as a “sales and marketing machine,†led to the choice.
Prior to working with Entergy, Luth was executive vice president for the Glasgow-Barren County Industrial Development Economic Authority in Glasgow, Ky., where he worked in partnership with Hizer, then president of the nearby Bowling Green (Ky.) Area Chamber of Commerce.
Luth has also worked in economic development in Cleveland, Miss., Batesville, Miss., Corinth, Miss., and Natchez.
“The opportunity to join with the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and to help strategize and implement Vision 2015 was one I felt I couldn’t refuse,†Luth said. “It is an exciting and challenging time for economic development everywhere. But in the Pensacola area the tools are being put into place for us to showcase to the world all the benefits the area offers. I look forward to being a part of the team and to working with Jim and the community to move the Pensacola area into a strong economic future.â€
An Ohio native and a 1992 graduate of Mississippi State University with a degree in management, Luth is married with two children.